It has been a while now since I've been a high school exchange student and there is nothing I can do to go back in time and live it all over again, but I sure could move back to the United States and that's exactly what I did, about one week ago.

I've been receiving messages from friends asking "Where are you?" because it is getting hard for them to keep track of all the things I do and places I go to. January 9th I left Italy and I arrived in the United Kingdom, which is where I flew from when I arrived in the United States the 18th of the same month. So yeah, three countries in ten days.

Prior to Christmas, I wasn't ready to admit that my Erasmus was over - also because technically it still wasn't, due to the fact that I still had assessments in January - so I went back and I made the most out of my time there. I moved back to the States because I've been offered an internship at a video production company in Denver Colorado. This means that I get to live with my host family again and that I can bring the exchange experience to the next level: I won't have any program rules to follow but most importantly I will get a license so I will finally be able to drive places without being a burden to people. Instead of going to high school, having to deal with teen drama and all that kind of stuff, I will drive myself to work, get work experience in what I am studying and learn new things.

I've been back for only a week but it already feels like I've been here forever. It's unbelievable but I feel like I am at home and, honestly, I couldn't be happier. I've been really busy with meeting everyone again and reading the Colorado handbook. In fact, I've already passed the driver's written test, even though the department of motor vehicles still didn't issue my permit. If you are also considering getting a license in the USA and are over 18 you need to go to the DMV (no appointment is required - at least where I did it) and bring all the immigration documents, which in my case were DS2019, I94 form, SEVIS receipt, and passport. The only issue is that you need to wait two weeks from your arrival in the USA before you can actually get your permit, I didn't know that and so now I will have to wait until next week for that, even though I already took the test and passed it.

Anyway, hopefully everything will fall into place one day or the other. Lately, I've been thinking that everything happens for a reason. I thought about a few things that I was denied of a couple of months ago. At the moment I felt like that was such a bummer but, in the long run, it has been a blessing. Because of this, I will not lose hope and I will continue "a testa alta".

- Cris